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Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Unfortunately, this month i was really disappointed with the She Said Beauty Box. The samples i received were quite cheap and none of it floated my boat. I thought i'd review it anyway because i guess that's the way beauty boxes work, some months you're going to be really pleased, and some months you'll be disappointed. For now i'm going to stick it out and hope that next month's will be more promising. This month was mainly skincare products.

I've never heard of Herbacin before or even seen any of their products. In fact, after doing a little bit of research, I think it's a German country and it looks like you can only buy online, so a little pointless to add into the box in my opinion. However the handcream itself is quite handy for this time of year. My hands always go dry and cracked and it gets very painful so i did appreciate this new addition. I also like the fact that it comes in a tin because its small enough to fit nicely into my handbag. It has a light floral scent making it smell lovely and fresh. Obviously, the packaging is also very cute with the little flower! It says this is supposed to protect your hands in all weather conditions and the chamomile in it is meant to smooth and moisturise hands to ensure elasticity and softness. I think She Said could have been a little more generous because this was 20ml tin worth 99p classed as "full sized."

Another teeny tiny 3g sample (enough for one, maybe two uses), this is the Cellnique Advances Bio Renewal Masque and again, i have never heard of Cellnique before. This could be seen as a good thing because it means that i can give a completely unbiased view of the brand, but it's annoying because again, they are only available overseas. This is formulated out of fresh fruit enzymes and acids which you can really smell. I really like fruity scents so it really appeals to me. Its quite a gentle exfoliator, but i did not see and significant results in my skin. Perhaps if i had a bigger sample it would have been different. It worked fairly well as a cleanser and yes, my skin felt fresher but i wouldn't be going out and paying $51 on this product based on this sample.

b.liv is a brand by Cellnique which I found interesting because we've basically got two of the same brands in one box. This product is called "off with those heads" and is meant to clear blackheads and whiteheads. It has a really weird scent which reminds me of bongela! I'm very lucky and i don't suffer from spots so i haven't seen any effects from using this but the smell is enough to put me off to be honest. And the gel like consistency is really strange to rub all over your face! If i did get any breakouts, i may consider using this, but i think you can get better products for $49. Also this is another tiny 3ml sample and you can maybe get one or two uses out of it. And again you can only purchase this online.

These two samples of KeraStraight moisture and protein masks are about the only things i got excited for in this box. My hair is so dry and damaged at the moment, i really need to get to a salon, but the mixture of it being expensive and having no free time means i just haven't had the chance, so i really love finding hair products that may make it temporarily healthier for the time being. This is a leave on mask that i used before washing my hair and i left it on for about 20 minutes. After using it, my hair seemed a lot softer and conditioned but also straighter. My hair tends to dry quite wavy but after using this, I hardly even needed to use straighteners. I really like how thick the consistency of this product is, it just feels like it's doing a good job. I would be interested in trying this product again, but i'm not sure about the £25 price tag. These two samples received were both 10ml

Next up is the Biao Beauty rejuvenating night cream which seems like a nice enough product, Again, it's hard to see results when you only have a 2g sample. This smells like a lavender wheat bag which i think it quite comforting for a night cream just when you're about to go to sleep. It feels very moisturising, if a little bit greasy, and is meant to also protect against premature aging. I have also never heard of this brand before but that's probably because they're not available in the UK. The packaging is really sweet, i love the picture and the colour scheme and i am a sucker for cute packaging. However, again i don't think i'd feel comfortable paying $24.50 for a full sized version of this.

The last product is the bonus product, or the "SSB treat" they've started to call it. It's the second full sized product in the box and it's 30 tablets of vitamins. In my opinion that's not even a beauty product and they come in the form of tablets! I hate taking tablets even when i'm poorly, so these are literally awful for me. They're supposedly a food supplement for those who are on a "health kick." There's not a lot i can say about this product except no, just no. This sachet is worth £2.49.

I hate to be so negative, which is why i put off doing this post for quite a while but i suppose you've got to be honest about these things. I'm sorry She Said beauty, i really like the brand and i still think they're one of the best Beauty Box companies out there but this month was a complete let down. I just hope you can step up your game next month.

You can visit my She Said Beauty profile here.What did you think about the October box?

These past couple of months have contained a lot of milkshakes and tasty drinks! I didn't realise until i clumped all of these pictures together. Although the Starbucks salted caramel hot chocolate is most definitely my favourite thing to drink at the moment. I hope you guys like these little updates, it's almost like a picture diary. I've been using Instagram a lot more recently and have tried to get into the habit of posting at least one picture a day so head on over and follow me, my username is @sleepwakehope

Do you have Instagram? What have you been up to recently? What's your favourite autumnal drink? Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Saturday, 20 October 2012

I have LOVED the wardrobe transition from summer to autumn/winter and i've particularly loved the military trend at the moment. If you saw my latest wishlist post, you will know i was obsessing over this beautiful army styled jacket from missguided and i loved it so much, i just had to buy it.

I've literally been wearing this jacket with almost every outfit recently, i feel like it's a really versatile style and can look good with most other clothing. I particularly like wearing it with my leather look leggings to match with the sleeves and my favourite khaki hat from Forever 21 which hasn't yet left my head since the first leaves of Autumn fell! I've seen a few alternative of this jacket floating around but what I love about this one is all the little detailing including the studded pockets and zips on the sleeves. This is definitely a staple piece in my wardrobe this season and such a reasonable price too.

Another trend i've fallen in love with is this gorgeous deep shade of mahogany or "oxblood" as i've heard. It's a really vampy look and i think it looks perfect for the autumn/winter seasons. I particularly like wearing this colour on my nails and lips as you can see! On my lips i've been wearing the Revlon Lip Butters, "berry smoothie" being a favourite or I've been using the 17 cosmetics lipstick in "pink posey." For my nails i've invested in the impress nails which have been floating around the bloggersphere for a while now. I love how quick and easy they are to apply and i absolutely love the colour however they don't seem particularly durable in my opinion. I've been wearing them for 2 days and have already had to replace a fair few. I'll let you know when i've made my mind up about them!

In other news, i've been super busy recently with work. As some of you may know i work 2 jobs, in the daytime I work in a store pretty much full time and by night i work in a club behind the bar. Therefore with the little free time i have i'm either sleeping or catching up with friends! With the run up to Christmas, things have been much more hectic than usual so that's why sometimes things get a little AWOL on here. I'm very much looking forward to Halloween and sharing some spooky stuff with you guys though so keep a look out for that :)

What's your favourite Autumn trend? Have you entered my giveaway to win tickets to the BBC Good Food Show?

Friday, 19 October 2012

Recently I've been lucky enough to join the Cybercandy blogging family which means I've had the chance to taste some really delicious treats, including the frosted cookies & creme pop tarts. Being a big fan of cookie flavoured things, i was really excited to try these and i wasn't disappointed! I was actually pleasantly surprised with how creamy and tasty these were. A perfect breakfast treat in my opinion... (Or lunchtime treat, even dinnertime perhaps?)

I shared a packet with a friend a couple of days ago and asked for his opinion:-

"They're scrumptalicious and choccywoccydoodah and creamaloony!"

In all seriousness, these are probably the best tasting poptarts I've tried so far. I definitely prefer the chocolate toaster pastries to the vanilla ones. Not to mention i was really impressed with the filling in these, they have a perfect combination of creamy and stickiness making the consistency just right. It does say on the packaging that they are a good source of vitamins and minerals too so guilt-free deliciousness! Wooohooo!

I can't fault Cybercandy either, with they're friendly positive attitude and awesome packaging. I love the robots and the "nomnomnom's" on their delivery boxes and the cute free magazine is so retro and fun to flick through while your waiting for your poptarts to cook! Next on my list to try is definitely the white chocolate fudge flipz! Has anyone else tried them yet?

Friday, 12 October 2012

1. So the military trend has been very popular recently, and i can't help but jump on the bandwagon and fall in love with these army styled jackets. This is the cheapest one i've found on the market so far at £29.99 from Missguided and i really love the leather sleeves and stud detailing.

2. I really love the style of this bracelet and i think the pink makes a really cool statement. The rope accent makes it seem quite nautical which i really like. I've been really loving Forever 21 jewellery lately.

3. Do i really need to explain this one? Another forever 21 piece and i just absolutely love everything about this jumper. I'm quite the hello kitty fan and i just think this is adorable.. someone buy this for me please?

4. Another Missguided love! This jumper reminds me of the wildfox jumpers but at a fraction of the price. I love the star print and i think this would be so cosy, perfect for A/W!

5. I really love the style of these chunky chain necklaces because i think they go with everything and just make an outfit look more put together. This one is from forever 21 because, like i said before i'm loving their jewellery right now! I think this is going to be a recurring theme..

6. I don't tend to shop at Republic too much but recently the gorgeous print on this skirt caught my eye and i just think this would be so pretty to wear either on a night out or dressed down during the day. I also really love the zip detail on the waistband.

7. All my current iPhone cases are of cute animals like cats and pandas and i feel like i should maybe get something a bit more grown up? I really love the colours on this case and i may have actually already bought this for myself.. Etsy is a really great place for awesome phone cases!

8. I also found this skirt through Republic but it's from the brand Reverse who always seem to have lovely cross prints on their clothing. I think this skirt would be really wearable, not sure i'm a fan of the price tag though!

9. The final thing on my wishlist at the moment are these really pretty rose gold bow earrings from Forever 21. For £3.15 these are an absolute bargain and i've been really into bow's lately. I just think they're so feminine, pretty and girly.

Monday, 8 October 2012

As the summer fades into crisper weather and autumn approaches, it can only mean one thing. A new season and new fashions! A couple of weeks ago i headed down to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway for Bristol Fashion Week, some of you may have seen my tweets. I was very lucky to attend as a blogger and meet up with some other lovely bloggers where we received a champagne reception and some jam-packed goodie bags after the show.

The show itself was inspiring and a lot of fun as it always is. What i really love about Bristol Fashion Week is that they include a wide range of models from all ages and sizes and they make it very engaging. All the models are smiling and dancing around as if they are really enjoying it which makes it a lot more entertaining to watch. Plus there were some very attractive models this season!

The show kicked off with a museum styled theme with fashions from Marks and Spencer and jewellery from Accessorize. It was all very glittery and sparkly, but very tailored with suits and fancy jewels. As you can see, the autumnal colours have hit the runway with warmer shades of plums and browns.

There were also fashions from New Look and menswear from Burton and children's clothing from Next. As you can see, in this scene the guys came out on roller skates - this is what i mean about the show being a lot of fun to watch! This scene was based around street style so there was a lot of slogan t-shirts and the cross print seemed to be very popular too.

We also saw fashions from Phase Eight and Austin Reed with shoes from Jones Bootmaker. Now i've never shopped with Phase Eight before, their clothing is a little too mature for me but i really loved their elegance and how chic all the clothing was. It seems that the colour emerald green is popular with them for the fall as it cropped up everywhere including the dress above.

Next up we had quite an oriental little scene. Now floral prints are typically worn through spring/summer but this season they are expected to be popular too, just in darker colours and a more sophisticated print. Above is John Lewis' take on the fashion.

Another fun scene was fashions from Fat Face, children's wear from John Lewis.. and the disney store of all places! I really like fat face, not the price tag, but the quality of clothing is lovely.. so comfortable and perfect for layering. Bristol Fashion Week took a western style approach to their fashions but i absolutely love the boots styled with jeans and skirts. Next on my wishlist is definitely a pair of knee high boots!

We were told in the show that purple is going to be a really popular colour this season, a "cadbury" purple to be exact. This was seen on the runway with some gorgeous evening wear from Coast, menswear from River Island and some very sparkling footwear from Dune.

Another collection from M&S was up next with footwear from Clarks and jewellery from Ernest Jones. This scene also presented us with really pretty autumnal shades that complimented the heritage theme. It all felt very vintage and reminded me of the new John Lewis advert!

*All photo's are credit to The Mall Cribbs CausewayIn the finale we saw the theme of a Venician ball take place which included fashions from various retailers at the mall. The key colours here tended to be black and gold which reminded me a lot of a New Years party in the winter. I also noticed a lot of velvet which may become a key trend in the months to come!

Overall I really enjoyed the show and i'd like to thank The Mall at Cribbs Causeway for having me. I can't wait to layer up my clothing for the autumn/winter and accessorise with woolly scarves and winter hats.

What's your favourite trend for Autumn/Winter? Also don't forget to enter my giveaway to win tickets to the BBC Good Food Show!

Thursday, 4 October 2012

Am i the only person who is totally addicted to watching the Food network channels? Cupcake wars? Great British Bake Off? Man V Food?! Well, last year I attended the BBC Good Food Show at the Birmingham NEC arena. It was a really fun day where we scoured around all the different stalls trying out new and exciting foods. There was everything from chocolate flavoured cheese and toffee flavoured vodka! I enjoyed it so much that i plan to attend this November also with my mum. This year, special guests Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood are attending, and being a Great British Bake Off fan i am very much indeed looking forward to seeing them!

"The BBC Good Food Show is the biggest and best food Show in the country and this year the line up is just as stellar as always. Top foodie faces including John Torode, Gregg Wallace, James Martin, Gino D’Acampo and The Hairy Bikers plus many more will be taking to the Supertheatre. There will be hundreds of exhibitors from Cornish Cheese Co to David’s Chilli Oil and Luponde tea plus BBC Good Food Show regulars including Foxes Spices and The Curry Sauce Company. With Christmas just around the corner it will be the perfect place to pick up inspiration to make your Christmas stand out from the crowds this year and try something different!"

The lovely people over at the show have given me 2 pairs of tickets to give away to my lovely readers so you and a friend can go too! All you have to do to enter is:

Be a follower of my blog

Leave a comment telling me your FAVOURITE food & an email address so i can contact you if you win!

For an EXTRA ENTRY you can tweet about the giveaway and be sure to include my twitter @katiefhowell

I must let you know beforehand, these are general admission tickets and cannot be used on a Saturday. These are also for the Birmingham NEC arena and you would be in charge of arranging your own transportation. If you'd like to buy a ticket they are selling for £21.50.